Nul Points |
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Author:
Tim Moore
By Vintage
Average Customer Rating:   
List Price: £7.99
Our Price: £2.39
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Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780099492979
ISBN: 0099492970
Label: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: 2007-05-03
Publisher: Vintage
Studio: Vintage |
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Congratulations! And celebrations!, 2008-12-27
The British may pretend to have no time for Eurovision but it's always the Brits, I notice, behind the books, theatre pieces and TV documentaries about Eurovision. Usually the combination of this annual Euro-pop jamboree and British hack ends with tired old Eurosceptic cliches about 'Johnny foreigner', 'political voting' and 'awful' music. To his credit Tim Moore resists playing to the gallery in this way and has properly researched his subject matter. I'm relieved he got to this idea first ahead of a lesser writer who would have served up a lame, half-baked and misinformed dog's dinner of a book. Moore's work would translate into an excellent TV documentary but given the clueless BBC's attitude to the Contest, don't hold your breath. Meanwhile, thanks to the wonders of Youtube I'm off to check out the hapless nul pointers myself.
Thumbs down from a Eurovision fan!, 2007-08-05
Well I have not read any books by this author before, but am a fan of the Eurovision Song Contest.
I was really excited by the set up of this book.What is it like to get zero points at the Eurovision Song Contest? One minute you win your national finals, then you come last.
This book has a fatal flaw, you want to hear the songs. You want to hear the song you are reading about in the book.
I wanted to know what happend AFTERWARDS to these singers. I felt there was far too much of the author telling you how hard he worked to track down the singers. He seemed to shoe-horn in "witty" jokes which just fell flat in my opinion.
Perhaps this would work better as a TV programme?
Expected more from moore, 2007-06-26
Having recently finished reading the excellent Spanish Steps by Tim Moore (possibly the funniest travel book I've ever read), I really wanted to like this too. Unfortunately it fell flat and I ended up struggling through to the end.
This is a crying shame because the premise is perfect; Moore meets with and interviews the acts from a song contest roundly sneered upon (at least from within these shores) who'd failed to collect a single point for their efforts. This comedic potential collapses however through a repetitive routine of tracking down said artist, interviewing them (and opening old wounds in the process), hearing what they have done since (in most cases, not much) before moving onto the next one. It lacks the wit and sparkle of his earlier efforts and ends up being, sadly, a tad boring.
Bring back the donkey Tim!
Not Nul Points but 5 Stars, 2007-06-07
Tim Moore has done it again.
After taking the Tour de France and the board game Monopoly he has now taken the Eurovision Song Contest and written a superbly funny book
One word of warning - don't read it in a room full of other people as you will laugh out loud!
A new side to Moore, 2007-09-21
As a long-standing fan of Tim Moore with a all-time loathing for the European Song Contest (ESC), I approached this book with trepidation. I needn't have done.
After a slow but necessary start (for those of us ESC neophytes) describing its history, Moore gets into his stride when he starts to visit and interview those luckless, and sometimes hapless performers who have have had the misfortune to score 'nul points' since 1978.
The range and depth of both the research and interviews are extraordinary, given the subject matter and the sympathetic ear he brings to all seems to be rewarded, with the single exception of a Nordic narcissist.
The final chapter about his first visit to the contest itself is a return to the knock-about humour of some of his earlier books.
Compassionate and insightful. A joy.
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